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S975119th CongressWALLET

Expanding Medical Education Act

Sponsored By: Senator Kaine, Tim [D-VA]

Introduced

Summary

Expand medical schools in underserved communities. This bill would create a new grant program under the Public Health Service Act to fund the establishment, improvement, or expansion of medical and osteopathic schools and branch campuses in areas that lack such programs. It prioritizes minority-serving institutions and places designated as medically underserved or health professional shortage areas, and directs the Secretary to seek an equitable geographic spread of awards.

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  • Families and patients: Aims to boost local training capacity where clinicians are scarce, which could improve access to primary and specialty care in underserved communities.
  • Medical students and underrepresented applicants: Funds may support recruiting, enrolling, and retaining students from disadvantaged backgrounds, rural and underserved areas, low-income individuals, and first-generation college students.
  • Minority-serving institutions and colleges: Gives priority to schools that would create new medical programs or branch campuses where none exist, including institutions designated under the Higher Education Act.
  • Medical institutions and workforce development: Grants can pay for planning, construction, hiring faculty from underrepresented groups, and curricula focused on rural and underserved care. The Secretary must report publicly on grant outcomes, including enrollment and workforce effects, within 5 years and every 5 years thereafter.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Grants to expand medical schools

This bill would authorize HHS to give grants to colleges to start, expand, or improve MD and DO schools and branch campuses. Grants could pay for planning, building, hiring faculty, modernizing facilities, and curriculum focused on rural and underserved care. The program would prioritize projects in medically underserved communities, health professional shortage areas, and minority-serving institutions. Awardees would need to recruit and keep students from disadvantaged, rural, low-income, underrepresented, and first-generation backgrounds. Grantees must report annually, and HHS would report outcomes to Congress within five years and every five years after. Funding is authorized as "such sums as may be necessary."

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Kaine, Tim [D-VA]

VA • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 3/12/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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